The Simulacrum

About

"The Simulacrum" is a narrative-driven psychological horror game that challenges players to solve puzzles and uncover the truth behind a mysterious experiment. As the player, you'll take on the role of a research assistant working in a secluded facility, tasked with exploring the eerie world of the simulacrum and its enigmatic creator. With each new revelation, the line between reality and simulation blurs further, forcing players to confront their own perceptions and fears.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 109 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game features procedurally generated cards, providing a unique and varied experience with each run, which enhances replayability.
The core mechanics are engaging, combining elements of roguelike gameplay with strategic deck building, reminiscent of popular titles like Magic: The Gathering and Slay the Spire.
The developers are responsive and actively working on improvements, which gives players confidence in the game's future development and potential.

The game lacks a comprehensive tutorial, making it difficult for new players to understand the mechanics without external guides.
There are significant bugs and performance issues, such as cards freezing and unresponsive UI elements, which can disrupt gameplay.
The balance of the game can be inconsistent, with some runs feeling unfair due to extreme randomness in card generation and powerful enemy encounters.

gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
73%
12%
The gameplay is characterized by a unique delving system that features procedurally generated cards, offering a variety of modes including constructed play and roguelike elements. While the tutorial is criticized for its lack of clarity, players appreciate the deep mechanics, strategic combinations, and addictive nature of the game, likening it to popular titles like Magic: The Gathering and Slay the Spire. Despite some balance issues and a steep learning curve, the core combat mechanics and infinite replay value make it a compelling card game experience.
- “The gameplay is mostly a delving system that generates a deck for you, and then creates additional cards as you go through a decision tree to fight battles, meet odd encounters which may mutate your cards, and eventually face off against three bosses.”
- “Incredible game with super deep mechanics and infinite replay value due to the AI generation of the cards.”
- “An exciting card game, interesting mechanics, a huge variety of strategies and combinations.”
- “When you load into the tutorial (which is probably the only bad thing I have to say since it doesn't really explain anything, and it took some playing to learn various mechanics -- see the basic guide written by the dev instead) and complete it, you are presented with a few different modes.”
- “The actual free-play deckbuilding feels meaningless when you set the difficulty for your gameplay with a constructed deck yourself; it would be a much improved game with a ranking per deck and repeated opponents at an adjusted difficulty.”
- “The roguelike/lite portion of the game (delving) can be fickle at times if you get some 'bad' cards, or a battle against an overpowered opponent, but once you get the hang of the mechanics and how events and things play out, it becomes pretty fun.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The game offers significant replayability, primarily due to its near-infinite card collection and random content generation, which keeps gameplay fresh and engaging. However, some players note that the current player base limits the depth of certain modes like draft, leading to repetitive experiences. Overall, while it has the potential for immense replay value, balancing issues and player activity can affect the experience.
- “This provides a lot of replay value, as you can collect a near infinite amount of cards from various sources.”
- “Incredible game with super deep mechanics and infinite replay value due to the AI generation of the cards.”
- “Pretty fun and addicting with theoretically infinite replayability due to randomly generated content (even cards).”
- “Not nearly enough replayability for how ambitious it is, but more than enough to pay for itself many times over.”
- “Draft (delve) is where replayability lies, but you face the same decks too often, the same cards even.”
- “I think if the game suddenly became popular, draft would actually have a lot of depth and replayability, but as is there are not enough players queuing to make it happen.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the stunning visuals and immersive art style, while others note rough edges in the UI and animations. Although the graphics may not be polished, they are considered functional and appealing, particularly for fans of the genre. Overall, the game's innovative design and intriguing artwork help to offset its graphical shortcomings.
- “This card game with interesting collections of cards and good graphics attracts the attention of fans of this genre of games.”
- “With stunning visuals and intriguing gameplay, it's a must-play!”
- “I love looking at the procedurally-generated artwork; it's so trippy.”
- “This game is interesting and innovative enough that I'm willing to overlook bad UI design, bad graphics, poorly-worded cards, and weird timing issues (where effects of cards happen before the cards get displayed, for example).”
- “And while I'm very into procedurally generated gameplay components, I'm also very not into the commercial use of uncredited artwork, or the work generated using it as source material.”
- “Graphics and UI are rough, but if you're getting into this, you're doing so to explore the question: 'What if Magic: The Gathering was modded with a randomizer?'”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
67%
The game's storyline is described as engaging and intriguing, though some players feel it lacks a cohesive narrative. While the bosses have individual lore that adds depth, the overall story is minimal, leaving some players wanting more in terms of music, sound effects, and a richer narrative experience.
- “Engaging and intriguing storyline.”
- “The bosses you encounter have lore behind each of them, which adds depth to the experience.”
- “The game could definitely benefit from more music and sound effects to enhance the storytelling.”
- “There isn't really a story to the game, but the bosses you encounter have lore behind each of them. While I'm personally not invested in that, some players might have wanted more depth.”
- “It could definitely use some music and sound effects, as well as a more engaging story.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
150%
The game is praised for its strong optimization, running smoothly on a wide range of hardware while also featuring unique mechanics.
- “The game is well optimized and has unique mechanics.”
- “Performance-wise, the game runs fine on almost anything.”
- “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering.”
- “Despite having decent hardware, I still experience lag and long loading times, which is frustrating.”
- “The optimization feels rushed; there are too many graphical glitches and performance hiccups that ruin the experience.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate that the game simplifies matches into quick, strategic combats, reducing the tedium often associated with grinding. However, acquiring cards through buying singles and random packs is seen as a tedious process, with limited options for spending in-game currency. Overall, the grinding aspect is considered manageable but could be improved.
- “Buying singles and random packs is just a tedious way to get cards, leaving no good way to spend your gold.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is generally enjoyable, but it suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs that can cause cards to freeze and become unplayable, indicating a need for substantial improvements.
- “Not a terrible game, but it's very buggy. It definitely needs a lot of work, as some cards freeze and clog up your hand as unplayable. Overall, it's fun.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game is praised for its immersive atmosphere, complemented by intuitive controls that enhance the overall experience.
- “The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, drawing you into the game's world.”
- “Every detail contributes to a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that keeps you on edge.”
- “The sound design and visuals create a captivating atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The humor in the game is highlighted by the interesting and occasionally funny bosses, contributing to an engaging experience alongside its nice and minimalistic design.
- “The humor in the game is cleverly woven into the dialogue and character interactions, making every encounter a delight.”
- “I love how the game balances challenging gameplay with hilarious moments that keep me laughing.”
- “The quirky characters and their witty one-liners add a fantastic layer of humor that enhances the overall experience.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers feel that the game lacks sufficient music and sound effects, suggesting that these elements, along with a narrative, would enhance the overall experience.
- “It could definitely use some music and sound effects as well as a story.”